Goodbye, Shane

You were loved so very, very much. And you are already missed.

Happy 75th Birthday, Dad

My dad is 75 years old today. It's pretty hard for me to believe.

On January 1st he traveled with a team from his church to China to carry Study Bibles to the Chinese believers that are crying out for God's Word. He had never done anything like that before, and I doubt if he will do it again. (He fell in the snow and rocks at the Great Wall of China, hit his head, landed in the Chinese hospital, and came home in a lot of pain.) But he did it! That showed a lot of courage for a man who likes structure and predictability.

He is a self-described "supervisor" yet works as hard as everyone else. Probably harder. I wished he lived closer to me, not just because I like to be with him, but he would probably really enjoy doing a few of the things that need to be done around the house.

My dad is wise and gives good counsel, especially in the area of finances. He is wise with his money and desires his kids, grandkids and greatgrandkids to learn how to be wise with their money too. But most of all, he wants us to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. There were plenty of years that Duane and I lived without the predictability of a set income as we traveled and ministered in music. That was tough on my dad as he watched us struggle financially, and I think it stretched his faith as well as our own. I think my family has increased his prayer life over the years! But that can't be a bad thing, can it?

Every morning he and Pat pray for one of their kids and their families. I am thankful. Every evening before bed they play marbles with my sister, Cyndi, if she comes by.

Ps. 128:1 says "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways." This scripture always makes me think of my dad.

Happy Birthday, Dad. I love you!

Praying for Ronda

Is. 41:10 "Do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

This is the scripture that Nici texted to me when Duane and I went to the McPeeks early Thursday morning after finding out their son, Shane Byrd, had been killed in a car accident. I am praying for Ronda and Dennis ~ that God will strengthen them and uphold them when they feel they just can't go on.



"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort." 2 Cor. 1:3

Lord, please comfort the McPeek family.

My Dad

Charles Thomas Gwin, Jr.

Happy Father's Day, dad. (A day late.)


Grandpa and Jason.

Grandpa and Nici

Father's Day

A few of my favorite photos from the archives... My children have the best Father ever!




Father's Day was a glorious day, not just for Duane, but also for me. I think I am addicted to the wonderful art of scanning old pictures. Whitney's simple request of wanting to see some older photos reminded me of the treasures I have hidden in boxes or photo albums. Scanning old photos makes me happy!

Mary Bartlett graduates High School

Mary graduated Desert Christian Home Education Program (DCHEP) this morning at 10 a.m. We are so proud of her. She presented an incredible speech and I wish the lighting in the room were better so I could've taken a decent picture of it! Love you, Mary!

Jeremy & Noel Hartley

Jeremy Hartley and Noel Lund were married on June 1. It was a very fun wedding and reception. I know many have already blogged and posted great pictures of the special day. Here's a few of my favorites.

Anna and Alan Berthiaume were so happy. They celebrated their first wedding anniversary on June 3.



My kids were the cutest, of course.



Whitney and Jason



The Groomsmen and Waseem. Sounds like a good name for a rock band, maybe...Or maybe it should be Waseem and the Groomsmen :)


Me, Najwa (Waseem's mom), Nici and Mary



Joey Sonner and Braden Magnusson

Fun Day at the Huntington

So glad the Greens came to town! Bridget, Nici and I went to the Huntington on Friday ~ Just the three of us! What a day! The new Chinese Garden is incredible. We had so much to catch up on, it was fun to sit, relax and chat and chat. The drive home was not as much fun. Duane's car died on us in the fast lane of the 210 freeway. God's arms were big enough to protect us and slide us over to the center divider while the world rushed by! Very nice tow drivers came and rescued us. We told them that God took care of us. Thank you, Lord!





The Huntington House is finally open after a year or more. Bridget is sitting on the outside terrace. I can imagine the romantic dances that the Huntingtons must've hosted years ago. You can still see the hooks in the outside edges of the ceiling where they hung wicker swings for the guests to sit if they were tired of dancing. Sigh...

Gavin Ryan McDonald

Gavin Ryan McDonald was born on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 in Texas to my nephew and his wife, Adam and Ruthann McDonald. We are so happy for them to be parents. These are a couple of the pictures my sister, Carolyn, sent to me.



Proud cousin, Avery Cox.


Proud papa. Gotta tell everyone the news!

The Clarks

Here's proof that we finally managed to get together with Terry and Nancy in Thousand Oaks on May 17. Terry was recording a live worship CD and asked Duane to play bass guitar. It was a really cool evening of worshiping the Lord together.



Jason and Nici had just finished school. I think the pressure of finals must've taken its toll on Jason.

Mother's Day

I am trying to catch up on all the events of the last few months. Mother's Day was awesome. I got a lot of beautiful flowers but sadly, didn't take pictures of them. I enjoyed them for a long time though! Nana enjoyed her new 'duster' and coffee mug!